Silverport Capital, a small business funding service in Wenatchee, Washington, compares six funding types on this page: working capital, term loans, lines of credit, equipment financing, inventory financing and merchant cash advances. Each section explains what the type pays for and how it ends; funding partners decide on any request.
Six Funding Types, One Table
| Funding type | Pays for | How it ends |
|---|---|---|
| Working capital | Payroll, supplier bills and other costs before revenue arrives | Paid off from the revenue that follows |
| Term loan | A buyout, a remodel or another one-time cost | Fixed payments until a set payoff date |
| Line of credit | Recurring needs like parts, produce or payroll | Drawn and paid down again and again; interest on the balance |
| Equipment financing | Lifts, ovens, mowers, laundry machines, excavators | Loan payments with the machine as collateral, or a lease |
| Inventory financing | Stock bought ahead of selling it | Paid down as the stock sells |
| Merchant cash advance | A short gap against future card sales | Taken from each day's sales until the agreed total is in; it is not a loan |
Secured or unsecured business loans for Chelan County, WA motels
A secured loan names collateral: a machine, stock, receivables, or a lien on business assets in general. An unsecured loan names none, though a partner may still ask the owners for a personal guarantee. For a motel, possible collateral is close at hand: guest room furniture, laundry equipment and vehicles can secure an equipment loan, while working capital may be lent on the strength of the deposits.
Chelan County, WA had 75 traveler accommodation employers in 2023, 60 of them hotels and motels (County Business Patterns, 2023 data, U.S. Census Bureau). Whichever form a motel's funding takes, the useful comparison is the total dollar cost against what the money pays for.
Commercial loan types a Wenatchee, WA restaurant can price side by side
A Wenatchee, WA restaurant with a hood system to replace, a slow-paying catering account and a partner ready to retire has three different needs, and each one has its own funding type. Pricing them side by side, by total cost and by how long each one ties up cash, keeps one product from being stretched over all three.
- Equipment financing for the hood: the hood secures the debt and the term can run to its working life.
- Working capital or a line for the catering gap: short money for a short wait.
- A term loan for the buyout: one sum, fixed payments, a payoff date.
A business term loan, and when a Chelan County, WA landscaping company takes one
A term loan hands over one sum and collects it back in equal payments over a fixed period. A landscaping company in Chelan County, WA reaches for one when the purchase is large and lasting: buying a smaller competitor's route list, adding a second crew with its truck and trailer, or paying out a departing co-owner. Chelan County, WA had 68 landscaping employers in 2023 (County Business Patterns, 2023 data, U.S. Census Bureau).
Matching the term to the life of what is bought keeps payments reasonable without paying interest long after the benefit is gone. The term loans page covers payment math and what partners read.
What a business line of credit does for a Chelan County, WA auto repair shop's parts account
An auto repair shop's parts account is a recurring cost with an uneven timetable. Parts go out on a repair order today, the supplier statement is due at month end, and the customer or the insurer pays when the car leaves. A business line of credit lets the shop draw for the statement and pay the balance down as repair orders close.
Chelan County, WA had 53 auto repair and maintenance employers in 2023, with 236 paid employees (County Business Patterns, 2023 data, U.S. Census Bureau). Interest on a line runs only on the drawn balance, but a line can carry fees and renewal reviews; ask about both.
Is equipment financing a loan? A Wenatchee, WA kitchen's walk-in cooler as the example
Yes, when it takes the form of a loan. An equipment loan is a loan secured by the equipment it buys: a restaurant financing a walk-in cooler owns the cooler, and the partner holds a lien until the last payment. An equipment lease is not a loan in the same sense: the lessor owns the cooler and the restaurant pays to use it, with a buyout option at the end of some leases.
Either way the payment appears every month beside rent and payroll. The equipment financing page compares a $1 buyout lease with a fair market value lease.
A merchant cash advance explained against a Chelan County, WA hotel's card sales
Unlike the other five, a merchant cash advance is not a loan. A provider buys part of a hotel's future card receipts at a discount and collects them as a fixed share of each day's or week's card sales until the agreed total is reached. The cost is stated as a factor, such as 1.30, rather than as an interest rate.
Because the amount collected rises and falls with card sales, the timing is uncertain. Compare the total to be collected with the total cost of a working capital loan or a line for the same gap. The merchant cash advance page walks through holdback percentages and factor rates.
Inventory Financing for Stock Bought Ahead
Retail trade had 338 employer establishments in Chelan County, WA in 2023 (County Business Patterns, 2023 data, U.S. Census Bureau). A store buying stock before it sells, or a landscaper buying plants and pavers for a booked job, can use inventory financing, which is secured by that stock and paid down as it sells. It suits stock that turns; it fits poorly for stock that sits.
Next on silverportcapital.com: all twelve industry pages.
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